Clowns find new roles in hospitals, bringing laughter to patients

What, do you imagine, is the likelihood of hearing laughter in the cancer ward of a hospital? Let's face it; laughter is the last thing on anyone's mind in a grim hospital ward where everyone is in the shhh mode.

But laughter has a huge therapeutic value that can turn your life and health around.

Even though we are probably familiar with the adage 'Laughter is the best medicine,' most of us don't put this into practice.

Members of Clowns Without Borders performing for kids at Salaam Baalak Trust

The interest in laughter as a therapy actually began in the 1970s in America when Norman Cousins, the former editor of Saturday Review, overcame his serious chronic disease, a form of arthritis by laughing his way out.

He had stated that ten minutes of laughter actually gave him two hours of drug free pain relief.

Today, alternative health experts tout laughter therapy as a mode of healing any disease from a mild fever to even cancer.

And it's for the purpose of making people laugh that Clowns Without Borders (CWB), an international nonprofit organisation from the USA was founded in 1993 by a French musician Antonin Maurel and a Spanish clown Tortell Poltrona.

The idea began when Poltrona was invited to perform in a refugee camp in Croatia. Her performance drew unexpected attention from over 700 children and this reflected the great need for clowns and entertainment in crisis situations.

Clowns perform for the children at Mobile Creche

Thus, CWB was started to offer psychological support to those in trauma.

Now members of CWB perform in refugee camps, slums, orphanages and even prisons around the world and make people laugh.

'Our clowning extends to people from all walks of life from executives to housewives, sportspeople to those on the street,' says Hilary Chaplain, CWB artist from New York.

'Comedy often makes us laugh but doesn't manage to touch our hearts. When we work with the vulnerability of a clown, our comedy reaches a much deeper place. We go beyond the gags and touch people's heart in a way that makes our comedy more universal and makes us laugh from the gut,' says Dianna Hahn, clown artist from CWB, New York.

The red nosed gang is here in India now and is all set to get the kids laughing.

'We want to adopt a sustained approach to clowning. where we have a tie up with hospitals and visit them continually several times a week and build a rapport with patients,' says Ashwath Bhatt, who has joined the CWB and is also the brain behind Theatre Garage Project that conducts clowning workshops.

Ashwath Bhatt from Clowns Without Borders

The CWB is trying to make laughter therapy a part of mainstream treatment in Indian hospitals too.

'The grim situation prevailing in hospitals is a deterrent to healing,' says Bhatt.

If you imagined that the only place you would find a clown was in the circus, you are way off track. Clowns play a role in hospitals too in many countries across the world.

You find them in wards with children, adults and caregivers. Yet, the idea of medical clowns is still unheard in India.

'This concept is yet to be drilled into the mind of the nation which has an image of a clown only in a circus like situation. But a hospital clown is different from a circus clown and is very skilled at handling people,' says Chaplain.

The role of a clown turns serious and sensitive inside a hospital setting.

'One has to judge the situation quickly and act accordingly. It's really trying to tap into what will make a kid repond or feel at ease even when he is in a depressing place like a hospital. A clown in a medical setting is intent on bringing out the child in an adult too,' explains CWB artist Audrey Chabey from New York.

Apart from the patients who welcome the visits of these clowns, even doctors, family members and medical staff benefit from their presence as well.

The depressing hospital scenario in India could be replaced by a more vibrant one if we take lessons from Israel, which has made forays into medical clowning.

Medical clowns there act as co-therapists in patient care. They work with the patients, with an outfit of mock medical mask, imitation oxygen balloons and their bright red noses.

Medical clowns are trained during a three month course in Israel and the country offers a bachelor's degree in medical clowning-the only one of its kind in the world.

Clowns at hospitals in Israel help children and adults arrive for the surgery in a calm, relaxed and happy state of mind.

A clown comforts a child in a medical facility

Doctors in Israel have shown that medical clowns helped young patients avoid high levels of sedation that was needed otherwise.

Last year, Israel held its first of its kind conference on medical clowning, the country's major contribution in the field of medicine worldwide.

Studies done in Israel also show the numerous benefits of medical clowns.

The journal, Fertility and Sterility, published a study done by researchers in Israel which had found out that a 15 minute encounter with a clown immediately after fertility treatment dramatically increased the chances of a successful pregnancy.

There was another study which found that young cerebral palsy victims felt better after interaction with the doctor clowns.

Laughter yoga the latest mind body therapy

Laughter yoga was developed in India by Dr Madan Kataria. In laughter yoga people are led through their laughing exercises, interspersed with deep breathing.

'It's one of the healthiest things that you could do for yourself,' says laughter therapy specialist, Dr Santosh Sahi.

Ten minutes of hearty laughter equals 30 minutes on the rowing machine, says research by the Stanford University.

Ten minutes of laughter is equivalent to 30 minutes on the rowing machine

This practice combines laughter sessions with easy aerobic exercises and has many physiological and emotional benefits , thereby making it a unique wellbeing workout.

'The reason we call it laughter yoga is because it combines laughter exercises with yoga breathing. This brings more oxygen to the body and the brain which makes one feel more energetic, healthy and stress-free,' says Dr Sahi.

While natural laugh in daily life lasts hardly for minutes, it is not powerful enough to bring about physiological changes.

With laughter yoga, one laughs continuously for 15 to 20 minutes with short breaks of yogic breathing.

Except for pregnant women, who can face undue pressure in the abdomen by laughing, this therapy works magic for almost anybody.

'It allows people with serious illnesses to vent out their unpleasant emotions,' she says.

Interestingly laughter yoga was initially started as social club movement but now it has entered the business world too.

In fact a one year laughter yoga trial in a Danish IT firm showed that the company's sales increased more than 25 per cent and the stress levels came down by 75 per cent.